Familiar Friends and Foes Meet Out West

courtesy of WNBA.com

The Phoenix Mercury and Seattle Storm feature several of the best players in
the world and should be a real treat for fans to watch. The Storm have
been here before, but it has been awhile since we've seen the Mercury
in this position. With the amount of talent they have been amassing over the
past few seasons, it was only a matter of time before they returned to
the postseason. Phoenix had not made the playoffs since 2000 and narrowly
missed out a year ago despite winning their last seven games to finish 18-16.

But this season, the Mercury left no room for doubt, getting out to a solid start
and really turning it up in the second half of the season. They clinched a postseason
berth with over a week to go. With three All-Stars who finished
in the top 10 in scoring (something never done before in the history of the
WNBA), the Mercury averaged a WNBA record 88.8 points per game. They are capable
of scoring 100 points a game on any given night, outrunning and outscoring their
opponents on a regular basis.

Gm 1: at Sea.,
Fri., 8/24, 10 p.m. ET, NBA TV

Gm 2: at Phx.,
Sun., 8/26, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Gm 3*: at Phx.,
Tues., 8/28, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Guard Diana Taurasi led the
WNBA in scoring last season and came on strong to finish third in 2007. She scored
more than 20 points in 14 games, though she was not relied upon to score as much
as last year. That's because teammates Cappie
Pondexter, Penny Taylor
and Tangela Smith all also
averaged in double figures. Having them all together in the lineup for the entire
season was the key to the team's success. The Mercury were able to stay healthy
and kept their regular starting lineup intact all season long.

The continued development of Taylor is one of the primary reasons this team
was able to take it to the next level. Taylor missed much of last season, yet was
the MVP of the World Championships and is one of the most underrated players
in the WNBA. She finished the 2007 regular season with career-best averages
in scoring and rebounding (17.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg). The draft-day trade that brought
Smith to Phoenix in exchange for the first overall pick has been paying big
dividends for the Mercury. The ten-year veteran had another fine season, averaging
12.6 ppg, leading the team in rebounds and playing the most minutes of any player
on her team. Point guard Kelly
Miller was the only starter not to average double figures in scoring (she
narrowly missed out), but she helps keep things organized, distributes the ball and
was among the league leaders in assists. Off the bench, Kelly
Mazzante is capable of knocking down shots and Kelly Schumacher gives the
team another big body to rebound and start the breaks.

The Mercury's only potential liability as they enter the postseason could be
their defense. Despite scoring more than any other team this season, the Mercury
also gave up the most points in the WNBA. There are also rumors
circulating that Mercury coach Paul Westhead might depart to the NBA after the
season ends, but that was not a distraction in the regular season and should
not be one in the postseason.

By their own admission, the one team that gave Phoenix the most trouble all
season long was the Seattle Storm. The Mercury lost two of three games to the
Storm, including a 111-101 loss in early August. The Storm were three games
above .500 in mid-July, but lost traction after the All-Star break and spent
most of the second half of the season with a losing record. The Storm may have
been one of the bigger disappointments from the WNBA season, but finally put
together a strong run of games in the final two weeks of the season and appear
to be coming together at just the right time.

Injuries and other factors have plagued the Storm all season long and they were
just never able to build any momentum. All-Star playmaker Sue
Bird missed time after having midseason knee surgery and took several weeks
to get back to playing strength. They also lost center Janell
Burse in the final few weeks of the season and she is gone for the postseason.
Even MVP candidate Lauren Jackson
missed some time down the stretch to attend to personal matters at home and
the Storm were unable to win without her in the lineup.

But when they do play together, the Storm are a formidible foe. Like the Mercury,
the Storm also had four players finish with double-figure scoring averages.
Jackson is probably the leading MVP candidate after topping the league
in both scoring and rebounding. While LJ fought through pain and injuries
in previous seasons, she was at the top of her game in 2007 and only missed
a couple of games late in the season after the death of a relative. Guard Betty
Lennox also found her scoring groove late in the season and forward Iziane
Castro Marques had the best season of her career. Bird, a perennial All-Star,
had another productive season and will lead the Storm's lethal offense.
There were just too many games where they weren't able to put it all together
at the same time.

Another reason for the Storm's struggles is the lack of offensive
consistency from the bench. Tanisha Wright was serviceable in fill-in duty when
Bird was out and veteran forward Wendy Palmer has been filling in for Burse
since she had season-ending wrist surgery. Luckily, the Storm built up enough
equity early in the season to withstand their late-season struggles and a challenge
by the Houston Comets for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Burse is out for good, but the rest of the team is healthy again and has the
talent to beat any team in the WNBA, including the Mercury.

2007 Regular Season: Seattle
Storm 2 - Phoenix Mercury 1

Some fast facts about the Mercury-Storm
first-round matchup:

Taurasi

Mercury All-Stars Diana Taurasi, Cappie Pondexter and Penny Taylor combined
to average 54.2 points per game. That's a lot, but not a record.
The top-scoring trio of teammates in WNBA history is Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl
Swoopes and Tina Thompson, who combined to score 55.3 ppg in 2000. Taurasi led the WNBA in
3-pointers made for the second straight season. She shattered Katie Smith's
record last season by connecting on 121 shots from beyond the arc and knocked
down more than 90 this season After six seasons with
the Storm, Sue Bird has already tallied 1077 assists. She remains more than
700 assists behind all-time leader Ticha Penicheiro, who keeps racking up
assists of her own, but is closing the gap. Lauren Jackson is the first player
to lead the league in scoring and rebounding since Chamique Holdsclaw accomplished
the feat in 2002.